You days for some me time – a flexible working model on trial

Sean Sanders, managing partner of Thackray Williams, discusses a new flexible working initiative at the firm that could give its people some much needed extra time off.

The Great Resignation has left employers in no doubt about what people want from a job these days. Where once a generous salary was enough to make them sign on the dotted line, increasing numbers – particularly of younger workers – now demand a healthy work life balance too.

That’s why, earlier this month, we introduced our ‘You day’ initiative, which allows full-time staff to compress their hours and do 10 days’ work in nine so they can take the tenth day off. It isn’t a new idea and is relatively common in some other industries, but I do believe we’re the first, or at least one of the first law firms to try it.

Why now? We have always encouraged flexible working, and this is an extension of that, but it also comes at a time when people are exhausted after the pandemic related challenges of the past two years.

If we can help them to manage their workload in order to take that time out, whether it’s to do something for themselves, spend time with family and friends or catch up on life admin, we’re hoping it will go some way to making them feel better.

Around two-thirds have said they intend to try it so far and for me, that’s a really encouraging sign. Our people are our greatest asset – without them, we wouldn’t be able to provide the excellent service we do for our clients – and their health and wellbeing is our priority.

We made the difficult decision last year to cancel our Christmas party due to Covid, but instead gifted ‘Red Letter experience’ vouchers to staff so they could redeem them on a ‘You day’ doing something fun.

It isn’t compulsory – the traditional nine to five will still work for some and that’s fine. People also don’t have to use it every fortnight – they just need to let us know when they are so we can make sure we’re properly staffed.

We’ve encouraged all managers to lead by example and book theirs, but a change like this isn’t without its teething problems. Junior colleagues concerned that it might affect their career prospects have been reassured that that won’t be the case. If people say they’re too busy, it’s our job to help them manage their time effectively and introduce more resource if necessary.

We will be keeping it under review to see if any adjustments are needed. That has to include monitoring productivity – we’re a business and we can’t afford not to. But I think ‘You days’ will be a reason to work more efficiently – to enable that time out.

I was once asked what day of the year I got most done and I said the day before I went on holiday. Knowing you’ve got a break to look forward to is an excellent motivator. I know it’s not a week in the sun but in our time-poor world, I think ‘You days’ and the fact we trust our staff to offer it to them will be incentive enough.